Voter’s Choice: Backcountry

The Randolph/Rochester Sports Trails Alliance has been a literal trailblazer in backcountry skiing ever since it worked to help create the first sanctioned glades in the country on U.S. Forest Service land. The two key areas RASTA has developed, Brandon Gap on Route 53 and Braintree Mountain, near Randolph, have become icons for backcountry skiing, earning Vermont the nickname V-tah. In February, 2017, in one day 171 people carved down a total of 20,000 vertical feet through the RASTA glades. And there was still room for fresh tracks. 1. RASTA 2. Bolton Valley 3. Mt. Mansfield.